Awards

• Commended for Kirkus Prize (Nonfiction) 2019
• Commended for National Book Awards (Nonfiction) 2019
• Short-listed for National Book Awards (Nonfiction) 2019

Overview

"A New York Times Best Seller A February IndieNext Pick Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2019 by Buzzfeed, Nylon, The A. V. Club, CBC Books, and The Rumpus. And a Winter's Most Anticipated Book by Vanity Fair and The Week Starred Reviews: Kirkus and Booklist ""Warm, immediate and intensely personal.""-New York Times How does one pay homage to A Tribe Called Quest? The seminal rap group brought jazz into the genre, resurrecting timeless rhythms to create masterpieces such as The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders. Seventeen years after their last album, they resurrected themselves with an intense, socially conscious record, We Got It from Here . . . Thank You 4 Your Service, which arrived when fans needed it most, in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib digs into the group's history and draws from his own experience to reflect on how its distinctive sound resonated among fans like himself. The result is as ambitious and genre-bending as the rap group itself. Abdurraqib traces the Tribe's creative career, from their early days as part of the Afrocentric rap collective known as the Native Tongues, through their first three classic albums, to their eventual breakup and long hiatus. Their work is placed in the context of the broader rap landscape of the 1990s, one upended by sampling laws that forced a reinvention in production methods, the East Coast-West Coast rivalry that threatened to destroy the genre, and some record labels' shift from focusing on groups to individual MCs. Throughout the narrative Abdurraqib connects the music and cultural history to their street-level impact. Whether he's remembering The Source magazine cover announcing the Tribe's 1998 breakup or writing personal letters to the group after bandmate Phife Dawg's death, Abdurraqib seeks the deeper truths of A Tribe Called Quest; truths that-like the low end, the bass-are not simply heard in the head, but felt in the chest."

Full Product Details

9781477316481

Table of Contents

Reviews

Go Ahead in the Rain might appeal most to the music-obsessed, but its audience is wider than its title suggests. At its heart, the book looks at the constant conversation between life and art: how music changes the way we understand and interact with the world, and alters the culture at large. * Seattle Times * At this book's heart lurks a brilliantly vivid portrayal of a certain type of obsessive fandom: not the spectacular kind that leads people to camp outside artists' houses, turn up to greet them at airports and harass them on social media, but a more subtle, internalised variety, where an artist's music ceases to be something you merely love and gradually infects you to the point that it becomes a prism through which you view almost everything...in writing a book that could make even a naysayer whant to hear [Tribe's] music as a matter of urgency, Abdurraqib has provided a perfect epitaph. * The Guardian * Abdurraqib can tell better stories about music than sometimes the music can tell about itself...He can take one note and extrapolate an entire psychic history, both of his own wolrd and the world of the musician. * Full Stop * Go Ahead in the Rain transcends the usual fan book for its poetic prose as well as its insights into the wider context of the music. * Shepherd Express * By looking at the short, brilliant, stop-and-go existence of the ensemble A Tribe Called Quest, Abdurraqib has written one of the great books about hip-hop, opening up its genesis, its construction, its evolution and one particular group's history with the clarity of the hold Visible V-8 toy. * Houston Chronicle * [Go Ahead in the Rain] evokes the sensation listeners get at the end of the last track of a wonderful recording, that recognition of having just heard something remarkable. * Library Journal * Abdurraqib deftly weaves the biographical, autobiographical and his own elegiac letter writing into just over 200 pages that not only chronicle Tribe's beats and rhymes, but their place and meaning both in his own life and the larger cultural sphere. The result is at once a comprehensive career overview and a riveting personal reflection. * Exclaim! * Few writers explore their subjects as lovingly as Hanif Abdurarqib, whose thoughtful, lyrical, insightful new book...should be required reading for everybody. * Chicago Reader * Abdurraqib offers a level of historical understanding that only a passionate fan could deliver. * Pittsburgh Post-Gazette * [A] searing, thoughtful coming-of-age story about hip-hop, race, and the beloved Native Tongues jazz rap luminaries fronted by Q-Tip and the late Phife Dog. * Philadelphia Inquirer * Go Ahead in the Rain...cunningly and lovingly weaves memoir and eloquently told music history into a compelling and absorbing tribute to the transformative power of music. * No Depression * [A] memoir of listening and feeling, a deeply personal book unafraid to pair music criticism with intimate reflections. * Longreads * [Go Ahead in the Rain is] illuminating for fans of the group, but even hip-hop novices will be moved by Abdurraqib's book. It's a tribute to A Tribe Called Quest and a tribute to the power music has to grow with the listener. It's a book for anyone who has secluded themselves in headphones, pressed play, and heard themselves singing back in someone else's voice. * Vibe * Abdurraqib's writing is so generously thoughtful...He makes everything feel relevant, and he doesn't swerve into the more self-congratulatory music writing that dives so far into the weeds without reserving room for the joy and heartache that springs from the music. * Paste Magazine * Go Ahead in the Rain is not just for fans of A Tribe Called Quest, but for anyone who has ever felt deeply understood by a band, or found comfort in the solitude of putting on a pair of headphones. * Washington City Paper * [Aburraqib is] a lovely curator and chronicler of all things A Tribe Called Quest. We are reminded that the soul of the group was always one to be shared, then and now, between Hanif and me, through speakers in art rooms and headphones on bus rides, to anyone willing to hear. * The Michigan Daily * Go Ahead in the Rain is a fan's narrative on A Tribe Called Quest that gives readers the language to imagine a better world. * Electric Literature * Abdurraqib...makes an implicit argument for a criticism that works toward connection. At the heart of Go Ahead in the Rain are questions about ourselves; it asks how and why we love artists, and what we can do with that love. * The Nation * The vantage from which [Abdurraqib] dissects Tribe's legacy is rooted in the heritage of black music and delivered from the present cultural moment, making Go Ahead in the Rain, much like Tribe's music, capable of remaining relevant for decades to come. * PopMatters * [Abdurraqib] weaves an astoundingly compelling narrative...[Go Ahead in the Rain] is, without a doubt, an artistic statement of beauty. * Anhedonic Headphones * The book pays attention to the larger changes in the culture, but its overall tenor is warm, immediate and intensely personal. * New York Times, Editor's Choice * Abdurraqib mizes observations about the group with passages of personal retrospective and a rich description of Tribe's musical context. * The Current * [T]his book is like an all-night hangout session with a really smart friend. Abdurraqib writes about A Tribe Called Quest as a fan, but also as a thinker with a finely tuned sense of what's at stake in their music. Brilliant. * Parnassus Musing * Go Ahead in the Rain is both the promised love letter of its cover image and a remarkably helpful guide to Tribe neophytes. Those who know nothing will know slightly more, and will find a place to start. Those who grew up listening to these records...are likely to find joy and connection in Abdurraqib's memories. * Rock Roll Globe * It's a dazzling act, watching Abdurraqib weave in and out of Tribe's fabled history, working outside of their historical narrative to more clearly contextualize it. * Passion of the Weiss * [Abdurraqib's] exploration of A Tribe Called Quest uses his love for the group to leverage remarkably sharp insights about the band and himself. Forthright without being solipsistic, the book is a marvel of criticism and self-examination. * Pitchfork * [Abdurraqib] has a seemingly limitless capacity to share what moves him, which means that to read Go Ahead in the Rain, you don't need to be a Tribe Called Quest fan: Abdurraqib will make you one. His love for the group is infectious, even when it breaks his heart...[Abdurraqib writes] about music so beautifully and intelligently that readers are moved to love it, or reminded to love it more. * NPR * [T]his is a writerly talent worthy of our awe. One could argue writers are at their best when they use their insight to make sense of the world they observe. In a book about A Tribe Called Quest specifically-a group that attracted fans across race, gender, and generation gaps-Abdurraqib's penchant for holding and showing so much simultaneously is a perfect fit. * Barrelhouse * In his personalized approach to the group's musical legacy, Abdurraqib articulates how the group helped to define his personal growth, helping readers appreciate the power that our favorite acts have in helping us create a durable sense of identity. * Nylon * Fans of Abdurraqib's writing will recognize his ability to seamlessly weave together stories about multiple, often disparate topics. Whether he's reminiscing about his failed attempt to master the trumpet as a child, or geeking out over the history of sampling in hip-hop, or dissecting a 2011 Tribe documentary, each story serves the larger purpose: recounting the life of A Tribe Called Quest through a fan's eyes. * Columbus Alive * Abdurraqib...manages to write about music by making his language a type of music. He pays homage to A Tribe Called Quest in the only way fitting, with flow and charm and emotional rawness. * Mancunion * If you're a hip-hop fan, you need to get it...a brilliant piece of music writing. * Nikesh Shukla, Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4 * Go Ahead in the Rain is a literary hybrid: part academic monograph on the group and its music, part pocket history of hip-hop, part memoir, and part epistolary elegy. It is a book that conveys the wonder of being a fan and the visceral impact of experiencing the feeling of having oneself reflected back in music and pop culture. * Publishers Weekly * The book comes to life when [Abdurraqib] speaks from his own experiences...Although Go Ahead in the Rain is a no-brainer for devoted hip-hop heads (even those who think they've read all there is to know about the group), Abdurraqib's poetic homage to ATCQ (and hip-hop in general) will captivate casual music fans as well. * Booklist, Starred Review * [Abdurraqib] allows us into his own history alongside the groundbreaking group, blending personal, musical, and cultural insights into something that truly resonates. * Buzzfeed News * Go Ahead in the Rain is an accurate, honest documentation of the band, their music, and the time...Brilliantly entertaining, informative, and self-reflective. This is essential reading. * February Indie Next List * Abdurraqib explores and exposes the power of music, of art, to not just connect with people, but to connect people, to make movements, to inspire change and revolution, on levels both large and small. In powerful, poetic language, Abdurraqib makes clear the legacy of ATCQ, both the one the group called upon for their own creation and the one they left behind. * Nylon * Go Ahead in the Rain is more than just an homage to A Tribe Called Quest...it's more like a reckoning. The result is a critical examination of the group-their message and history-as well as a musical memoir of sorts, and an exploration of the lasting impact music can have on the soul. * Vanity Fair * Even those who know little about the music will learn much of significance here, perhaps learning how to love it in the process. * Kirkus, Starred Review * Abdurraqib's book doesn't attempt an arm's length, scholarly approach to analyzing the group and its music; instead, Abdurraqib speaks from his own experiences, often in the form of questioning or appreciative open letters to members of the band. It's a bold conceit, but if the book loses a bit of reserved objectivity in the process, it gains much more: an emotional grounding for why the group was so important to the author, and, by extension, why their music should matter to readers, too. * Foreword Reviews * [W]arm, immediate, and intensely personal...This lush and generous book is a call to pay proper respects not just to a sound but to a feeling. * New York Times * [R]iveting and poetic...Abdurraqib's gift is his ability to flip from a wide angle to a zoom with ease. He is a five-tool writer, slipping out of the timeline to deliver vivid, memoiristic splashes as well as letters he's crafted to directly address the central players, dead and living. * Washington Post *

Abdurraqib's book doesn't attempt an arm's length, scholarly approach to analyzing the group and its music; instead, Abdurraqib speaks from his own experiences, often in the form of questioning or appreciative open letters to members of the band. It's a bold conceit, but if the book loses a bit of reserved objectivity in the process, it gains much more: an emotional grounding for why the group was so important to the author, and, by extension, why their music should matter to readers, too. * Foreword Reviews *

Even those who know little about the music will learn much of significance here, perhaps learning how to love it in the process. * Kirkus * Abdurraqib's book doesn't attempt an arm's length, scholarly approach to analyzing the group and its music; instead, Abdurraqib speaks from his own experiences, often in the form of questioning or appreciative open letters to members of the band. It's a bold conceit, but if the book loses a bit of reserved objectivity in the process, it gains much more: an emotional grounding for why the group was so important to the author, and, by extension, why their music should matter to readers, too. * Foreword Reviews *

Go Ahead in the Rain is both the promised love letter of its cover image and a remarkably helpful guide to Tribe neophytes. Those who know nothing will know slightly more, and will find a place to start. Those who grew up listening to these records...are likely to find joy and connection in Abdurraqib's memories. * Rock Roll Globe * It's a dazzling act, watching Abdurraqib weave in and out of Tribe's fabled history, working outside of their historical narrative to more clearly contextualize it. * Passion of the Weiss * [Abdurraqib's] exploration of A Tribe Called Quest uses his love for the group to leverage remarkably sharp insights about the band and himself. Forthright without being solipsistic, the book is a marvel of criticism and self-examination. * Pitchfork * [Abdurraqib] has a seemingly limitless capacity to share what moves him, which means that to read Go Ahead in the Rain, you don't need to be a Tribe Called Quest fan: Abdurraqib will make you one. His love for the group is infectious, even when it breaks his heart...[Abdurraqib writes] about music so beautifully and intelligently that readers are moved to love it, or reminded to love it more. * NPR * [T]his is a writerly talent worthy of our awe. One could argue writers are at their best when they use their insight to make sense of the world they observe. In a book about A Tribe Called Quest specifically-a group that attracted fans across race, gender, and generation gaps-Abdurraqib's penchant for holding and showing so much simultaneously is a perfect fit. * Barrelhouse * In his personalized approach to the group's musical legacy, Abdurraqib articulates how the group helped to define his personal growth, helping readers appreciate the power that our favorite acts have in helping us create a durable sense of identity. * Nylon * Fans of Abdurraqib's writing will recognize his ability to seamlessly weave together stories about multiple, often disparate topics. Whether he's reminiscing about his failed attempt to master the trumpet as a child, or geeking out over the history of sampling in hip-hop, or dissecting a 2011 Tribe documentary, each story serves the larger purpose: recounting the life of A Tribe Called Quest through a fan's eyes. * Columbus Alive * Abdurraqib...manages to write about music by making his language a type of music. He pays homage to A Tribe Called Quest in the only way fitting, with flow and charm and emotional rawness. * Mancunion * If you're a hip-hop fan, you need to get it...a brilliant piece of music writing. * Nikesh Shukla, Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4 * Go Ahead in the Rain is a literary hybrid: part academic monograph on the group and its music, part pocket history of hip-hop, part memoir, and part epistolary elegy. It is a book that conveys the wonder of being a fan and the visceral impact of experiencing the feeling of having oneself reflected back in music and pop culture. * Publishers Weekly * The book comes to life when [Abdurraqib] speaks from his own experiences...Although Go Ahead in the Rain is a no-brainer for devoted hip-hop heads (even those who think they've read all there is to know about the group), Abdurraqib's poetic homage to ATCQ (and hip-hop in general) will captivate casual music fans as well. * Booklist, Starred Review * [Abdurraqib] allows us into his own history alongside the groundbreaking group, blending personal, musical, and cultural insights into something that truly resonates. * Buzzfeed News * Go Ahead in the Rain is an accurate, honest documentation of the band, their music, and the time...Brilliantly entertaining, informative, and self-reflective. This is essential reading. * February Indie Next List * Abdurraqib explores and exposes the power of music, of art, to not just connect with people, but to connect people, to make movements, to inspire change and revolution, on levels both large and small. In powerful, poetic language, Abdurraqib makes clear the legacy of ATCQ, both the one the group called upon for their own creation and the one they left behind. * Nylon * Go Ahead in the Rain is more than just an homage to A Tribe Called Quest...it's more like a reckoning. The result is a critical examination of the group-their message and history-as well as a musical memoir of sorts, and an exploration of the lasting impact music can have on the soul. * Vanity Fair * Even those who know little about the music will learn much of significance here, perhaps learning how to love it in the process. * Kirkus, Starred Review * Abdurraqib's book doesn't attempt an arm's length, scholarly approach to analyzing the group and its music; instead, Abdurraqib speaks from his own experiences, often in the form of questioning or appreciative open letters to members of the band. It's a bold conceit, but if the book loses a bit of reserved objectivity in the process, it gains much more: an emotional grounding for why the group was so important to the author, and, by extension, why their music should matter to readers, too. * Foreword Reviews * [W]arm, immediate, and intensely personal...This lush and generous book is a call to pay proper respects not just to a sound but to a feeling. * New York Times * [R]iveting and poetic...Abdurraqib's gift is his ability to flip from a wide angle to a zoom with ease. He is a five-tool writer, slipping out of the timeline to deliver vivid, memoiristic splashes as well as letters he's crafted to directly address the central players, dead and living. * Washington Post *

Author Information

A New York Times best-selling author and visiting writer in the MFA program at Butler University, Hanif Abdurraqib is an acclaimed poet and cultural critic whose work has appeared in the New York Times, MTV News, and other outlets. A nominee for the Pushcart Prize, he is the author of the highly praised poetry collection The Crown Ain't Worth Much and the essay collection They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, which was included in the Chicago Tribune's 25 Must-Read Books list for fall 2017 and received recognition from reviewers coast-to-coast, including a starred review in Publishers Weekly. He is currently at work on They Don't Dance No Mo', a history of black performance in the United States.

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